[5th] Week 101 - Recruit Hunting

[Seathan Kellar]

Recruit Hunting​

Word Count - 1,115
*Plot*

Spoiler: Note

The time setting for this takes place before the Collab entitled Visiting Hours between Roy and Sanosuke.

"Where is that little scoundrel hiding at? I've practically searched almost all the places a kid could be and he still isn't anywhere to be seen." Roy examined the picture Doctor Asaki had given him. "For a cousin of the Doc' you sure are giving me a hard time finding you." He gave a sigh then placed his hands to rest behind his head as he continued to walk down the path. His eyes glazed over the series of clouds that took refuge into the big blue yonder while he thought about the entire ordeal. Roy wasn't very content with taking in someone under his wing just because his hand was swayed. But with the circumstances he was in, Roy had very little choice in the matter. "There's only one place I haven't looked.... though I doubt that Mazaki would possibly be in a place like that." Roy passed by two male shinigami talking between them when he over heard one of them, "Hey did you hear? Some of the younger recruits are having a brawl out in front of the tavern."

Intrigue sparked within him as he just broke out in a dash to get to the tavern. Within about thirty seconds he had managed to reach his destination just in time to see the outcome of the "battle royal" . Among the nine shinigami involved in the fight was one particular shinigami that stood out. A small boy around the same age and height as Roy's little sister Ayami. His eyes were a pair of baby blues while his hair consisted of a mixture of light brown with blond highlights. The boy was down on the floor with an assortment of bruises all over his body. His garments were filthy from the sweat and dirt that were now soaked deep within the layering. Roy took one glimpse at the boy and then looked at the picture before showing disappointment written all over his face.

'Why am I not surprised. It seems like I'm always giving too much credit than where's due. Asaki really decided to give me a troublesome task this time. The kid barely looks like he lasted long in the fight in comparison to the condition of everyone else's clothes. What interests me the most are the other two shinigami along side of him. By the looks of it, the fight is three against six. However, one of the other two's clothes doesn't have much damage done to it. Meaning he more than likely sat out of the fight out of fear. On the other hand, the second guy's clothes are literally torn in different areas. Meaning he's been the main one doing most of the fighting.'

He narrowed his eyes slightly to get a better view at that man who now stood between the crowd of six people and Mazaki. Short, well-built, with medium brown hair that went down to just below the earlobes, and light brown eyes were the main features of the man's physic. "Hmm... That guy seems familiar somehow. I think I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't really remember where." Roy stood a good distance away as he tried to recall the identity of that person. After his memory failed him, he decided that the best thing to do was find out first hand.

Walking closer to the two groups, he ignored a large majority of bickering between them. Rather than trying to figure out the situation, he merely felt it better to completely disolve any problems by making himself know. "Hold it right there you guys. Fighting amongst each other is a sure fire way to get in trouble with captain Yukiko."

"Tell that arrogant idiot over there that. He started it all." The shinigami in front of the group of six people who stood face to face with the shorter man pointed at Mazaki. "That little runt got..." He stopped in the middle of his sentence Roy allowed his reiatsu put everyone down to their knees. Roy eyed the six shinigami and then Mazaki's group, "I personally don't give a crap who started what. If you have a problem then settle it out in a complaint. Otherwise, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. And trust me, you really don't want to know what the punishment is for attacking a fellow officer of the same division without a highly justified cause." The smile Roy gave soon after was a dark and creepy one that gave hint to the possibilities of pain that awaited for those who failed to heed his warning. All six of the shinigami that he leered at had fear enveloping their faces. Roy took a step forward so that he stood just over the supposed leader of this pact in an imposing manner. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Ye..yes sir! I'm sorry!" The man lowered his head to the ground apologetically before all of the other five who were also forced to kneel by Roy's reiatsu followed suit. Roy simply cleaned the inside of his ear with his right pinky finger. Pulling out a small gathering of ear wax, he flicked it aside and then removed the pressure he had instilled upon the six men. "Good. Now get out of here while I take care of these three trouble makers."

"Hai!" All six of the men said getting up to their feet and leaving. After they had left the area, Roy turned around and eyed the three shinigami. "Now then..." He didn't even finish the sentence before he was tackled to the ground and hugged madly by the short man as he yelled out, "Fuujin!"

"Oye, get the hell of me! You're embarassing me." Roy said as the little man cried into his chest while snuggling him. The short man however didn't seem to hear him as he continued to cry out Roy's nickname from the old days. The last thing he had expected was to come across a member of the old Lone Wolves' gang while in Seireitei. However surprising that may have been, Roy pushed the little man off of him and got up to his feet. Dusting himself off he looked back at the man who still seemed to have tears of joy rolling down his face. "Stop that, you're a grown man for goodness sake. Especially from a former member of the Lone Wolves."

"Sorry sir. It's just so good to see you is all." The man got up to his feet and wiped away his tears, "I don't know what we would have done if you didn't show up when you did."

"Nevermind that, let's go back to my place for now and then we can talk after we get those wounds treated."

 

[Seathan Kellar]

~The Gathering~

The Gathering​

Word count - 1,148
*Plot*

Steam rose from the bowl of water as Ayami dipped the towel before applying it to the unconscious Mazaki's bruised forehead. The boy laid there on the couch while other two shinigami sat at the kitchen table talking to Roy.

"I see... so this whole ordeal started just because Mazaki stared at the other guy's girlfriend too long and esculated from there when Yaji decided to jump in. That explains a lot knowing Yaji's nature and all from when he was in the Lone Wolves." He leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the rear two legs as his forgotten memories of the short obnoxious man resurfaced from the depth of his mind. Roy tilted his head so that he look at the young shinigami next to Yaji from the left corner of his eyes. "And the reason why Nagasatsu had been dragged into this mess was because he accidentally tripped and bumped into those guys when trying to pass by. It's sounds a little fishy, but since Yaji here backs up your claim I'll accept it. Just be more careful when you're going from place to place."

Nagasatsu lowered his head down shamefully, "Sorry sir. I'm really clumsy so I tend to get in trouble where I go."

"Sounds to me like you need some practice in training your footwork." Roy said as he brought the chair back down on all fours once again. "Fortunately for you, I've decided to open up a special class to train some of the younger, more new, recruits. It's going to be from early in the morning till just before the afternoon. At first the classes are going to be small, but it'll grow larger in due time. After all, there's bound to be an influx of students sooner or later." Both Nagasatsu and Yaji had expressions of surprise at the proposal. Yaji in fact was the first one to reply via jumping out of his seat and saluting Roy saying, "Fuujin! It would an honor to be allowed to train directly under your guidance! Be it rain or shine, I promise to devote myself to your instruction leader!"

"Yaji, I'm no longer your leader anymore. Even though I'm now your surperior officer, I'm nothing more than just that."

"No Fuujin, you'll always be my leader regardless where we are or ranking."

"Hmph. Have it your way; just don't call me leader in front of anyone. I'd rather not get in trouble on suspicion of conspiracy." Roy got up and walk around the table to where Nagasatsu sat. Placing his hand on the young man's shoulder, he gave a comforting smile. "Don't worry about giving me an answer now Nagasatsu. You'll know where to find me if you do decide to join though." He then walked all the way into the living room to see Mazaki ogling his little sister Ayami. Roy crossed his arms as he stood behind Ayami, "So you're finally awake, Mazaki. Ayami, why don't you go into the kitchen and get our young friend something to eat?"

"Okay Nii-san." She said leaving the two of them alone in the living room. Mazaki got up so that he sat on the couch a little perplexed as to what had happened right after the fight. "Where am I? Who are you?"

Roy just busted out in laughter for a bit before stopping and waving his hand, "Sorry, I'm just amused by the difference between you and your cousin Asaki. You're actually almost complete opposites my opinion. You had such a confused look on your face that for a moment there I thought you were going to follow up your last question with the 'I don't remember a thing' amnesia bit like they do in the movies. Good thing you didn't suffer a major blow to the back of the head or I'd never hear the end of the Doc's complaining."

"You know my older cousin? Then that must mean you're eighth seated officer Roy Karosiji. I didn't believe he was serious when he said that he had connections here as well to make my life a living hell. That jerk."

Roy couldn't help but laugh at Mazaki's comments about Doctor Asaki. "Yeah, that guy is a real pain in the you know what sometimes. But don't worry, he didn't ask me to make your life miserable all day everyday.... yet. Actually he just wanted me to give you a chance to escape such an ill-fate. Starting tomorrow morning, you're going to be training with a few other recruits under me. Classes start from early morning till the afternoon so don't be late or I'm going to have to have you make up for it in my own special way. And trust me, when I think up of something creative for you to do instead of the normal exercises they're going to be ten times worse."

"I don't have much say in this do I?"

"Nope!" Roy walked up to Mazaki and gave him a good slap on the back. "Don't sweat it! For the first week I'll go easy on you. But after hearing from Yaji about how badly you got your *** handed to you, I'm not going to deny the fact that you really do need the kind of teachings Doctor Asaki thought I should give you. Think of it this way, if you don't give me any trouble I won't give you any in return."

Mazaki just let his head sagged down past his shoulders in depression from how bad his life had gotten in such a short amount of time. Under his breath he cursed his older cousin Asaki for doing this to him. In the meantime, Ayami had returned with sandwiches on a metal platter. Yaji and Nagasatsu were following behind her already eating a foot long sandwich that was divided between them. "Karo-kun, I brought some sandwiches so you can eat with your guests. You haven't eaten anything all day so you must be hungry."

"Thanks Ayami, you really are a life saver." Roy took the sandwich smiling as he began to eat it. Ayami then went up to Mazaki and held the platter with the lone sub in front of him. "This one's for you as well Mazaki-kun." He looked up at her as she smiled and at once he became amorous of her. Taking the sandwich, he quickly stuffed it into his face to keep the sight of him blushing from being found. Mazaki ate the sandwich so fast that he then began choke. He hit his chest a couple times trying to get the food to go down fully, only to see a cup of tea held in front of him. Looking up to see Ayami once again smiling at him as she continued to hold the cup out for him. Mazaki obtained the tea from her and drank it down to the last drop before uttering a "thank you".

 

[Seathan Kellar]

Story of Three

Story of Three​

Word Count -- 1,204
*Plot*

After the gathering had ended the three shinigami had parted there seperate ways from Roy's house. Each scattering to a different section of the division, there thoughts working in preparation for what might lay in wait for them tomorrow.

---

Yaji went to the tavern with hopes of getting himself good and drunk for the rest of the night. It'd had been so long since he had last met Roy that the shear thought of training under the former "Fuujin of Ryukyu" was both frightening and exciting at the same time. Yaji's spirits were at a new high to a point where he wanted to get into a fight at first chance he got. Like Roy, he was a "wolf" a Ryukyu whose blood yerned for an opponent at all times. His hunger only satisfied when in the fury of combat. Yaji held his shaking right fist still with this left as it began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Man, I haven't been this fired up in a long time... Training with the Fuujin was something that I thought would never happen to me. It's like a dream come true." Yaji gave a big wide tooth smile while closing his eyes for a second or two. He then stopped in the middle of the open path to stare up into the stars. "Come to think of it, I've never heard of the Fuujin training with anyone. I wonder what he'll teach us on the first day of training."

Yaji was silent for a few seconds before shrugging and smiling once again. He began to go down on the path to the tavern once more without a hint of worry in him. "Well, no use in worrying about something like that now! I'll just lay a little off on the booze for tomorrow's sake. Besides, if Mazaki and Nagasatsu are going to be there than I have nothing to be worked up on. I mean, they couldn't possibly keep up to the kind of training the Fuujin has in store for them like me. I'm just that good!" He gave out a heartful bout of laughter just before walking through the tavern doors.

------

Nagasatsu on the other hand had just reached his dorm room and was laying down on the floor mat watching some old boxing videos. At the end of every day he had came home to watch the all to familiar men of those videos fight with their hearts. The graceful manuveurs, the strength behind each punch, the glory of victory, and pride each fighter had always made him yearn to understand how it would feel to be that strong. Every since he was a child, Nagasatsu had been very clumsy. So clumsy that it had gotten him picked on left and right till the very end when he lost his life tripping and falling in front of a moving bus.

"I wonder... I wonder.. what it truly means to be strong. To be like Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Jack Dempsey, or Muhammad Ali." Nagasatsu held his hands clenched together tightly as he watched the ending to match between Joseph William "Smokin' Joe" Frazier and Muhammad Ali. "I want to know how it feels to be strong."

The old boxing tape ended, leaving a blank screen for Nagasatsu to peer into a reflection of himself. He disliked the weak, feeble, and clumsy person he had always been. And he had hoped that someday he'd naturally overcome this characteristics. But that had never came for him in all those years of waiting.

"If I got special training, maybe I'll finally be able to get over this handicap of mine." Rolling over on his back, he stared up at the ceiling fan while thinking about Roy's offer. "He did say all I had to do was show up early in the morning for class. I mean... what more do I have to lose by just coming the first day?"

Nagasatsu narrowed his eyes and imitated a guard that he saw in one of the boxing films. He then threw a punch straight into the air before letting his arms fall back down to rest against he floor. "I hope I can do it."

---

Meanwhile,

Mazaki was seated on the rooftop of one of the small storage buildings used to hold food within the division. His eyes were fixated on the stars that littered the sky in vast multitudes. Below him came Doctor Asaki, walking slowly to approach where his cousin sat in a calm leisurely manner. Just a few feet away he jumped up to stand next to his younger cousin Mazaki. "So I take it you've met him." Mazaki didn't reply as he stared at the stars a moment longer. Finally he answered with a simple "Yes".

"Good, then you'll begin his training under him as planned. You're laziness has getting the best of you for too long now. I'm tired of you not being able to reach your full potential alone. Hopefully this way you'll gain the ability to pull your own weight around in a fight. Knowing Karosiji, he'll work you until you become a true warrior. This is your last chance Mazaki; failure is not an option for you. Understand?"

"Yes, I got it already. Now stop reminding me about it. I'll go do these stupid morning training classes."

"Of course you will, cause I'm going to make you my newest testee to try out all my newest experimental drugs on otherwise." Doctor Asaki leaped off the roof, landed on the ground, and began to walk off before saying, "Remember, whether you become the next person to try out my newest creation of weight gaining and super digestion pills depends solely on how whether or not you succeeded in meeting Karo-kun's expectations."

Mazaki flipped Asaki the bird while his back was turned before laying down flat on his back to gaze straight up at the stars. He sighed while resting his head and his right hand, "Why am I always the one with the worst kind of luck? I really don't want to train with that guy, but Asaki is going to force me to whether I like it or not."

His mind wandered for a bit allowing him to picture an image of Ayami's face in an outline of stars. He blushed as he sat up and nawed at the tip of his thumb, "But his sister was kind of cute..." Mazaki stopped biting on the edge of skin before laying back down onto the roof to star at the stars. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to imagine spending time with Ayami out on picnics, holding hands, and a vast assortment of other things that couples would do together. Opening his eyes once more, he got up to his feet, dusted himself off, and jumped down to the ground. On his way to his dorm room, he stopped to take a look at Roy's house from across the field. "Heh, this isn't so bad if I can get a chance at a hot thing like that." Mazaki said deviously as he proceeded down the path already thinking of the first steps to take in order to get closer to Ayami.